1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a display module, and more particularly, to a display module having an improved heatsink.
2. Description of the Related Art
The plasma display device is a widely used display device because of its small thickness and high-quality wide screen with a having viewing angle. A display module is a key component of a display device, and includes a display panel, a driving circuit unit for driving the display panel, and a chassis for supporting the driving circuit unit and the display panel. A display module used in the plasma display device includes a plasma display panel (PDP) for producing an image by gas discharge, a driving circuit unit for driving the PDP, and a chassis for supporting the PDP and the driving circuit unit.
The PDP includes a first panel and a second panel. The chassis of the PDP has a convex member for reinforcing the rigidity thereof. The driving circuit unit has signal transmitting units and a circuit for generating electrical signals to drive the PDP. The PDP includes a plurality of discharge cells located between a pair of facing substrates spaced apart from each other. An address electrode extends across the discharge cell to one or both ends of the substrate pair. The address electrode is used to select discharge cells for discharge by inducing an address discharge.
The driving circuit unit includes an address electrode driver generating an electrical signal for driving the address electrode, and a plurality of signal transmitting units having an integrated circuit (IC) chip mounted thereon to control signal transmission between the address electrode and the address electrode driver. The signal transmitting units can be tape carrier packages (TCPs). The signal transmitting units are arranged in a line on the chassis or on a convex unit for reinforcing the rigidity of the chassis, along a lower and/or upper edge of the chassis. The signal transmitting unit has one end connected to the PDP via the lower portion of the chassis and the other end connected to the address electrode driver.
In the plasma display device, the IC chip mounted on the signal transmitting unit generates a large amount of heat during the operation of the plasma display module. To increase the heatsink area of the IC chip, a thermally conductive heatsink sheet is disposed on the IC chip, and a cover plate is pressed and attached onto the heatsink sheet. In another heatsinking arrangement, a washer-type mold is disposed around the IC chip. However, such heatsinking arrangements do not make it possible to effectively dissipate the heat generated by the IC chip. In order to improve the heatsinking performance, a heatsink plate can be additionally mounted on the cover plate or a heatsink fan can be installed at a given position as to improve the heatsink effect of the IC chip. These arrangements, however, greatly increase the manufacturing costs of the display module. Moreover, since a region where the signal transmitting units (such as the TCP) are disposed is very small, it is difficult to install a plurality of heatsink plates or fans. Therefore, it is difficult to significantly improve the heatsink effect of the IC chip. Therefore, what is needed is a more effective and a more practical heatsink unit for display modules.